Learn How The Recent Supreme Court Decision Will Impact Your Practice

Sponsored with The Social Law Library

Date: Friday, September 15, 2006

Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM

What does it mean “to discriminate against” an employee who has complained of discrimination or otherwise opposed any practice made unlawful by Section 703(a) of Title VII
(42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a))?

Can acts which are unrelated to employment or occur outside the workplace constitute retaliation under Title VII? Is merely treating the employee differently than others who have not complained of discrimination enough to constitute actionable retaliation or must an employee suffer a material change in the terms and conditions of employment?

In a recent victory for employees, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White (No. 05-259), broadened the standards for employees seeking to bring Title VII retaliation claims. According to the ruling, the scope of the retaliation provision of Title VII extends beyond workplace-related retaliatory acts and harm and is not limited to “ultimate employment decisions.” Moreover, the Supreme Court held that an act is severe enough to be retaliatory if “a reasonable employee would have found the challenged action materially adverse,” i.e., “it well might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.”

Come explore what this new Title VII standard for retaliation will mean for employee retaliation claims, and what employers must do to protect themselves after an employee makes a claim of discrimination. Will the new standard mean a rush to the EEOC and federal courts? How does the new Title VII standard compare to Mass. Gen. Laws c. 151B? What are the implications of this decision for retaliation claims under other federal statutes such as Sarbanes Oxley, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act? Can “bullying” inside or outside the workplace constitute an actionable form of retaliation under Title VII?

• How BNSR v. White will change retaliation litigation
• What the Supreme Court said about “adverse employment actions?”
• How to now advise your clients
• The difference between the Federal and Massachusetts standards
• Tips from Superior Court judges regarding litigating retaliation cases